Liquid watercolours are hands-down my favourite art material in the whole world. They’re bright, bold, and endlessly versatile. Perfect for everything from splashy paintings to delicate drip experiments.
At Smudge, we use them all the time because they offer kids such a rich sensory experience. They’re easy to dilute, mix, and layer, and the colours stay vibrant even after drying. Unlike food dye (which can stain skin, clothes, and literally anything it touches), liquid watercolours wash out surprisingly well and hold their colour beautifully.
Art as play, not performance
Little makers arrive ready to explore. They press, swirl, tap, pour. They are testing ideas with their hands. A very wet brush meets blue and becomes a new kind of sky; a leaf pressed into clay leaves a story behind. This is learning you can see and feel!
When “right” gets in the way
Many of us were taught to follow steps and match an example. Useful sometimes, sure; but it can also freeze brave choices. Process art flips the goal. There is no single picture to chase, which means there is space for surprise. And surprise leads to ownership.
What it looks like here
A session at Smudge might be one child mixing colour for almost the whole time. Another builds a mural with friends that grows and grows. Someone else discovers the perfect print by accident, then tries to repeat it and can’t, so they invent something new. The artwork might go home (but sometimes not!), and the learning builds.
Try it at home
You don't need a studio. You need a corner, a few materials, and courage to experiment!
Offer variety. Alongside pencils and markers, add sponges, cotton buds, cardboard offcuts, forks, sticks. New tools invite new ideas.
Talk about the doing. Try “Tell me about this part,” “What changed when you added water,” or “What do you want to try next.”
Let them lead. Resist “fixing.” Purple sky today? How wonderful!
Make peace with mess. A drop cloth, a damp cloth, and a clear table work wonders.
Celebrate experiments. Hang in-progress work, keep a folder of “beautiful scraps,” and name the discoveries you notice.
Why it matters
Process art teaches something bigger than how to paint or print. It says your choices count. It says mistakes are information. It says you can start again and again, and that trying is the point. That feeling walks off the art table and into everything else.
We are not chasing perfect projects here. We are building a creative life; one curious mark, one brave try, one joyful mess at a time!
